The Saving One -- Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Mia Fieldes

 

They call themselves Starfield, so you might assume that this indicates they want the fans, the ones who attend their concerts and-or listen to the music they make, to look upward toward heaven and where the One about whom they sing is watching. And that sense of their mission is reflected in what they have to say about “The Saving One”, that they are signposts for Him. Tim and Jon Neufeld (founding members of the Starfield band), with probably eager agreement by their collaborator, Mia Fieldes, say that they are worship leaders, pointing people to Jesus and not to themselves, though culture tries to lift up the people who are on stage singing. (Indeed, He’s the one at the center of attention in this reproduction of the painting Ecco Homo (Behold the Man!), by 19^th Century artist Antonio Ciseri, which depicts Jesus preparing to offer Himself as a sacrifice when Pilate asked the rabid crowd what should be done with Him.) The song that Tim, Jon, and Mia wrote was released in Feb 2010, but what they voice in it has been around for centuries. And yet it still needs to be said, because everyone will be heading for a forever place, eventually.

 

The Neufelds are from a small church in Winnipeg, Canada, carrying a big message that they themselves and those who’ve watched them perform say begins and ends with the One about whom they sing. They haven’t spelled out in detail why they wrote ‘The Saving One’, but they really don’t need to do so. In an interview they gave, Tim made it clear that they exist to direct attention to the person who’s the focus of their music: Jesus Christ. That part of themselves in their worship direction is also evident to others, including a reviewer of the album that the song title headlines. They don’t suspend their message by telling only about what Jesus did, but they also want to challenge believers to live like they mean it, to insert themselves into daily living with a purpose. And so, the lyrics of the song state with conviction what the God-Son did, inviting us who believe to also be unequivocal about life through Him. He is synonymous with words they sing, like ‘mercy’, ‘selflessness’, ‘peace’, ‘pardon’, ‘rescue(d)’, ‘bounty’, ‘love’ and ‘glory’. That these contrast so radically from the lyrics that tell of humans without Him – like ‘shame’, ‘slavery’, ‘sin’, ‘grave’, ‘fear’, and ‘darkness’ – is their point. It’s as if they are saying ‘look at the chasm that He’s bridged!’ So, when this group sings ‘Heaven can’t contain…’ Him, what they are suggesting, without explicitly saying so, is that His life and sacrifice for humanity isn’t just for us to applaud because heaven is our future home. We can lift up what He did, who He is, and what that means for us now, while we’re still unglorified mortals. ‘I am redeemed’, they sing, and ‘the grave is overcome’ even before I enter it. That’s a proclamation we who are saved should be wearing on our faces and in our attitudes, so that others can hear about death being defeated, the darkness overshadowed by joy, the fear that is cast out, and ‘the enemy (who is) destroyed’. Who wouldn’t want to be on the winning side in this kind of episode?   

 

Are others not listening, or are we saying too little about what Starfield and the Neufelds have emphasized in ‘The Saving One’? Perhaps it’s a bit of both. There is so much to distract here on planet Earth; even the God-Son saw this phenomenon exert itself right in front of Him, including among those who’d been His most ardent followers. It’s just that the non-believers have travelled further along the path away from Him for longer than those who truly believe Him. But, I have to say that it is not easy some days, even for me as a Jesus-follower. How many emails do I get daily, how many bills must I manage and pay, how many tasks on my calendar? These are just a few. Are you and I really that different? If it’s overpowering some days, just turn it all off, at least for a few moments, and turn on what Tim, Jon, and Mia are saying. The biggest issue for me is one that He’s already solved.     

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=costCQfWZa0 (see the comment at the 3:50 – 4:20 mark)

 

See some comments about the band’s style and purpose when they perform in concert:  https://www.indievisionmusic.com/reviews/starfield-the-saving-one/

 

Read about the musical group that the two principal composers are in here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfield_(band)

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecce_homo_by_Antonio_Ciseri_(1).jpg …The author died in 1891, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. The image may be found within this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus